


Extras: The Backstory

by seekeronthepath



Series: Tower Tales [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Lots of OCs - Freeform, PoC, Public Relations, Trans Character, awesome archivists, seriously read It's Not Easy first or you will have no idea who these people are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:46:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7056799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekeronthepath/pseuds/seekeronthepath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before 'The Avengers' was...a group of ordinary people who didn't know each other, getting on with their lives.</p><p>A collection of drabbles and oneshots exploring the backstories of my original characters in the Tower Tales series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joe Dawson, Archivist, The Steve Rogers Memorial Archive (aka The Cap Collection)

"Joe Dawson, I'm here about the archivist position?" There weren't a lot of jobs around in library sciences, and a place at the Steve Rogers Memorial Collection... Let's just say he'd jumped at the chance.

"Joe _Dawson_?" Mr Stark asked, that far-too-familiar grin on his face.

"Joe Dawson, Mr Stark. Yes, like 'Highlander', no, I wasn't named after him, I'm not that young. Any joke you can think of, I've heard already, trust me." Uni had been _dreadful._ And seriously, Dawson was introduced in '93. He knew he looked younger than his age, but really?

"But the show _had_ come out when you decided to go into librarianship, right?" Mr Stark smirked. "Apart from a historian, is there anything _more_ like a Watcher than an archivist?"

Joe sighed. "It honestly didn't factor into my decision making process, Mr Stark. I got into information studies because I love books and I love knowledge and I like organising things, and I got into archives because primary sources are our gateway into the minds of others, and preserving and facilitating that is important to me. Something like the collection here... how many people _think_ they know the 'true story' of Captain America? How many of them have thought about Steve Rogers at all? Without archives like this, he could go down in history as 'the man who punched Hitler over two hundred times' and we wouldn't have any way to figure out who he was outside of that. Archives turn heroes into ordinary people. And vice versa, in a way. You'd be surprised the number of ordinary people who have become famous among historians simply because there's good records of their lives."

Mr Stark looked at him appraisingly. "I like you. You're on the short list."

And that seemed to be that.


	2. Daya Sengupta, Public Relations Specialist, Stark Industries

Daya Sengupta first worked for Stark Industries in the summer of the year 2000, as a public relations intern. Being two years into her degree at USC Annenberg, she considered herself lucky. Stark Industries was a huge company, with _very_ local headquarters, and an excellent anti-discrimination policy, which she appreciated personally for a number of reasons. During her internship she learned the following: PR might be increasingly a women’s field, but it was still an old boys’ club at the top; even when they beat their competitors by a large margin, a company still needed PR; and the national PR strategies of Stark Industries had to be adapted day-to-day to accommodate the antics of Tony Stark.

\-----

Daya Sengupta considered herself extremely fortunate when in 2002, only three months after her graduation, she was hired by Stark Industries as a public relations assistant. Being an Indian woman, and a transgender one who was still working on passing effectively, she was well aware of her disadvantage. But apparently she’d made a good impression during her internship, and her marks certainly spoke well of her. Her manager wasn’t the best, but wasn’t the worst either, and there were some good people in the department. She also found herself developing a friendship with Virginia Potts, Mr Stark’s personal assistant, who she had reason to contact at least twice a week.

“The thing is,” Rebecca explained to her, her first week on the job, “Mr Stark has a love-hate relationship with the press – loves the attention, hates managing it. So either we waste our time trying to persuade him to listen to us, or we get Pepper to do it, and she maybe succeeds.”

“How detailed a brief does she need?” Daya asked, concerned.

“Oh, Pepper’s great,” Rebecca reassured her. “Friendly, competent, efficient… She’d probably fit right in here – hell, she’d be great in most departments in the company – but as Stark’s PA, she’s irreplaceable.”

Daya raised her eyebrows. “She’s that good? How long has she been working for him?”

Rebecca paused dramatically, then revealed in a hushed voice: “ _Thirteen months_.”

Wow. “During my internship, people kept saying not to learn the names of Stark’s PAs because his office had a revolving door,” Daya confided.

“That’s about the size of it,” Rebecca agreed. “So. Once a week, plus crises, you get to have a half-hour meeting with Pepper to go over the current media strategies. Just give her your availabilities and let her organise it – her schedule is nuts.”

And that, more or less, was how Daya ended up with a regular coffee date with Pepper Potts.

\-----

In 2005, when Daya took most of August off, Pepper was one of the few people she told the actual reason. “Surgery,” she said. And, “I’m fine, really. It’s…top surgery.”

Several months ago, she’d been going over her budget – student debt, credit card payments, long term savings, necessary expenses – and she’d realised that, with her new raise and halving her discretionary spending for a while, she’d be able to afford top surgery by the end of the year. She managed to do it in five months.

“Oh my god.” Peppers hand flew to her mouth, and Daya realised she didn’t know if pepper _knew_ she was trans. The excited “Congratulations!” that followed reassured her, though, and later, Pepper’s get well gift – a beautiful deep blue sari – was the one she treasured most.

\-----

In June 2007, Daya texted Pepper: _There’s a lot of speculation about capitalising on Tony’s scholarship. I suggest you plant the idea of conferences_.

In January 2008, Pepper texted Daya: _He’s on the verge of outrageously drunk, and I think someone just issued a dare. Prepare for battle_

\-----

On the 6th of May, 2010, Tony Stark went missing. For once, the world knew instantly.

On the 13th of May, he was still missing. For those in the know, that was much more surprising.

Tony Stark was a prime target for kidnapping: with money, brains, and fame, the potential rewards were high; as a man with a substance abuse problem and an erratic schedule, the opportunities were frequent; and as someone who chose his bodyguards for personality rather than experience, the process, such as it was, was easy. However, Tony Stark was also an experienced kidnappee, something unsavoury parties frequently forgot. Daya had heard rumors that the first time Tony got away from kidnappers on his own, he was nine – a story she found both horrifying, and horrifyingly plausible.

In the end, it took three months for Tony to free himself from his captors. The company shake-up he announced almost immediately was a PR nightmare, and the next time Daya spoke to Pepper, it was in the wake of Stark’s _absurd_ move to out himself as an international vigilante.

 

“What was he _thinking_?” she yelled, her voice hoarse and cracking – she’d been home with the flu when she saw it. “That whole press conference was a mess – who wrote that? Because I didn’t sign off on it.”

Pepper sighed. “ _You_ would have written something that satisfied his ego,” she said dryly. “The _plan_ was to say Iron Man was Tony’s bodyguard.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Daya pulled her phone away from her ear and stared at it for a second. “A bodyguard. That is never seen in the same place he is? In what universe was that going to work?”

“Trust me, I know,” Pepper said wearily. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him.”

“Pepper, let me be completely clear with you,” Daya told her. “Fuck that. There’s only so much _anyone_ can do to handle that man, and you’re an absolute marvel. Go home, drink some fancy wine, eat some good chocolate, and get some sleep. Stark’s next flight of insanity can wait until tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Daya,” Pepper said gratefully.

\-----

In 2011, things were only just starting to settle at the company – albeit with a number of open positions in the top tiers – when Daya got a call from Pepper.

“He’s making me the CEO,” she said, her voice cracking. “Daya, what is he _doing_? How am I supposed to deal with this, on top of everything?”

Tony Stark did not deserve Pepper Potts. Not one bit. “Start by potting other people in charge of the little things,” Daya suggested. “That is, if you’re saying yes.”

“What sort of person would say no?” Pepper asked, but she didn’t sound happy.

Daya shook her head. “An intelligent, self-aware woman who’d considered her life trajectory and decided this opportunity didn’t suit her situation?” she tried out.

Pepper laughed weakly. “You know, part of me wants to take it just so I can get away from Tony?” she admitted. “He’s just…he’s been so _erratic_ lately.”

Daya’s heart sank. “Oh honey,” she murmured. “I wish I could help.”

Pepper sighed and sniffed a little. “If I take it, be my head of PR?” she asked. From the sound of it, she’d been crying a little.

“Sorry, Pepper,” Daya said sadly. “I think you’re better off with Mike for that one. Or someone new, even. But if you’re willing to make a new position, I’ll take over all Tony’s stuff.”

“Really?” Pepper asked.

“Really,” Daya confirmed. “I’ve been doing at least half of it myself anyway. I’ll even liaise with him for you.”

“…that would be wonderful, actually,” Pepper admitted. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Really, though, take some downtime tonight,” Daya told her. “Do you need me to come over?”

“I’ll be fine,” Pepper reassured her. “Thanks, Daya.”

\-----

In 2012, the Battle of New York happened, and Daya found that running PR for Tony in the wake of the disaster by necessity meant doing PR for the people he’d been working with that day.

“So,” she said to Tony, after his appearance at a fundraiser for the reconstruction efforts, “are you planning on introducing me to your team any time soon?”

They were good people, as it turned out, though nearly all of them would rather only touch press with a ten-foot pole. Daya sized up the situation, sighed, and started looking for a place in New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done my best to treat Daya's background and identity respectfully, but please, if I've messed something up, let me know.


	3. Kvasir, Master Scholar of Asgard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Chapter 33, Thor went to Asgard to get a text translated for Jarvis' unbirthday, and the translator, Master Kvasir, gave him a second text, with a letter of introduction inside. In Chapter 35, Jarvis received it. This is that letter.

To the wise creation known to me as Jarvis, advisor and steward to Midgard's defenders, Kvasir, scholar of Asgard, Counsellor of the Vanir, sends greetings and good wishes.

It is said in the  _Hávamál_ that there is no better burden on the road than a store of common sense, and indeed in my travels I have found it to be so. Yet I would say also that upon the path towards the end of our lives, knowledge and wisdom are as valuable, and it is well known that one best becomes wise by talking with another. So it is that I have traveled throughout the Nine Realms in search of wise and knowledgeable strangers from which to learn, and in payment for that learning, I have also sought out opportunities to teach. The most worthy and mighty Thor Odinson, wielder of Mjolnir, was once my pupil, and now claims you as his friend, and a scholar he respects. Knowing also of your nature, one unique in the Realms, how could I lack certainty that conversation between us would result in greater wisdom?

I humbly request, therefore, that when next I journey to Midgard, I may do so with the knowledge that Thor Odinson, well known to both of us, might arrange between us a meeting that I might be known to you, and you to me. Should this be agreeable to you, it will be easy for him to communicate to me that it is so.

I am certain you shall be generous in this matter, as you have been most generous to the Prince of Asgard in his travels, and in gratitude, and congratulations on this celebration of your birth and worthiness, I offer a humble text of my own composing, with the hope that you will find it both enjoyable and interesting.

May you be blessed with curiosity and the satisfaction of it, and drink deep of Mimir's Well,

Kvasir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written using the letter-writing conventions of the Middle Ages, which you also saw in Thor's message to Odin in chapter 46. Obscure terminology includes:
> 
> Vanir: a sister race to the Aesir, and closely interlinked with them. Many popular Norse gods, such as Frey and Freya, were Vanir rather than Aesir. In the MCU, Hogun is Vanir, implying that they, as a people, have a close resemblance to ethnic groups of Midgardian Asia. I have mixed feelings about that, honestly  
> The Nine Realms: Asgard, Midgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Niflheim, and Helheim. These, and Yggdrasil, the world tree, make up the universe in Norse cosmology. More or less  
> Mimir's Well: the well of wisdom, guarded by/associated with the god Mimir.
> 
> Hopefully you guys enjoyed this - I like Kvasir, and I'm definitely thinking about bringing him back on screen to meet Jarvis and the others. We'll see how it goes.

**Author's Note:**

> These are just some fun pieces to let me play with the universe a bit. Other candidates include: Daya Sengupta, Public Relations Specialist, Stark Industries; Master Kvasir, wandering scholar; Katerina Dinapoli, sniper, SHIELD; David Brewer, sniper, SHIELD; John Wu, agent, SHIELD; Amy Porra, infiltration specialist, SHIELD; Tomas Parilla, therapist, SHIELD; Kate Fitzpatrick, construction contractor.
> 
> Let me know what you think, and who you want to know more about!


End file.
